Silver Tongue, Golden Lips
by Auto Pilote
Summary: Loki returns to Asgard, but as a prisoner, where the Avengers left off. While his punishment is being decided, Loki gets bored in his imprisonment, and some lucky girl. Some evil monologue-ing.


**Well, obviously nothing belongs to me. **

**Nothing! Nothing at all! not even this keyboard!**

**So, obviously, the avengers/thor and such belong to marvel, and unfortunately Loki isn't mine either. He's a fabulous Disney Prince. **

…

…**Shhhh, it's starting. **

And just like that, they were gone.

And just like that, they were home.

Home, it meant so little to him, and so, so much. The tesseract had transported them back to Asgard, something he wasn't sure how he felt about. With a glance around him at the majestic columns and vaulted ceilings, he could almost see every memory of Thor and Him reappear and fade before him, and he felt a curious tightness behind his eyes, and a stinging creeping under the bridge of his nose as he thought of just how long ago that was. A heavy clank of irons and chains brought his attention back to the present: his wrists bound in front of him, and he no longer held the handle of the tesseract, the wrinkle in time and space that he might have used to take over Asgard. With weary realization Loki only just then thought that he could have used the tesseract to bring them someplace else, and he might have escaped. The thought held him for a moment as his eyes dropped to the ground.

What would it have mattered. He was tired. Exhausted and aching in a way he had never known before. His gaze shifted to his brother, a changed man, different from his memories. His brother took a wary step back from him, everything that had ever happened passing in the long moment between them. Thor drew back, ending it, their brotherhood, their friendship, everything.

"Take this man to the dungeons. Keep as many guards as are available watching him, until a punishment befitting his crime has been prepared."

This man. _This man_. Truly, there was no punishment more than that, nothing more than to be nothing more than "this man" to his dear and only brother.

Loki hung his head, and allowed himself to be taken away. Perhaps if he had not been wearing the gag 'round his mouth, that kept him in a lockjaw and his silver tongue still, he would have called out and pleaded with his brother, from the depths of his heart. But even as he pondered it, Loki knew that much more likely it would be that once given that chance, that silver tongue would dance and weave him a plea for his brother to tell him that he had changed and bargain for his freedom, reminding Thor of their childhood and memories, sacrificing little pieces of his heart until he found a way to Thor's and weaseled his way out. Only then, unable to do anything, unable to slip back into his habits, Loki knew he _had_ changed. Only then, when he had truly changed, feeling his genuine heart, he was unable to tell anyone.

Loki found himself in his cell, not sure of how he had come to be there but he didn't care. He didn't care much about anything anymore. *

It was far down, with Odin's palace visible in its entirety, looking down upon him. for a brief moment Loki wondered if Odin, his foster mother, and Thor, were watching him from their high balconies before he sent the thought away. He knew that Thor probably dined with Sif and the Warriors' Three, laughing about the battle and passing out from the ales they'd consumed at their victory feast, while he remained, dwelling defeated in his cell. How he despised the Warriors' Three and Sif! Before they were there to interrupt, he and Thor were constant companions, blood brothers, thick as thieves. Then they came and ruined it, fighting over Thor, the golden child's attention. From then on it was rare for Loki to encounter a memory where it was solely him and his brother.

And Sif…she was the worst of them all. When the Warriors' Three invaded and engaged his brother's time, he had almost doted on her, admiring her skillful resolve to everything she put her mind to. Of course, even she had no time for him, choosing to chase after Thor, for some weak-minded reason pertaining to Thor's physical features, Loki thought with a grimace, his expression darkening.

Nothing was his, nothing! Not the throne, not Midgard or Asgard, not his parents, not even his brother! His anger grew, rattling the room before he fell from his seat, lying on his side on the cold floor, a lone, perilous tear leaking out of the corner of his eye. He had done awful things he was sure, and although he felt no remorse for broken laws of morality, he was sorry. He was sorry he had thought to play a joke on his brother that fateful day, that he had been the one to fan the flames and let it escalate…into this. It was the one time he had ever felt sorry for anything, and it hurt so, so much. All this, and for what? He had become the monster parents told their children about at night, and far worse.

The lone child he once was, and in some ways, he still was, curled up and cried. Its sobs echoed within the depth of the space his heart had once occupied. It hurt. It hurt so much. If he had just succeeded, he might have not felt this way. It wasn't remorse, no, never remorse. But that still didn't change how sorry he was. He had a memory of Odin catching him as a child as he readied to play another prank, and how Odin had held him by his ears until he cried, over and over again how sorry he was, as if he could say it enough times and then everything would somehow be better again.

If only he had succeeded.

You've failed me.

He shivered, the imagined, hissing voice echoing in the heart of his soul. They had given him the staff with a gem from the infinity gauntlet to rule over Midgard with and reclaim the Teseract, and he had failed them. Perhaps to stay imprisoned in Asgard would protect him from them, after he had failed to deliver on his promise. Loki shuddered to think of a lifetime trapped within the walls. He knew that even his mind would not be able to take the solitude, and utter boredom. Besides, his real punishment would be decided soon enough. He would have to escape and take his chances with the Chitauri or suffer the Asgardians. For a brief moment he thought he might hide in Jotunheim, before he realized with a bitter laugh that he had killed the Jotuns' king, Laufrey, and doubted that the Jotuns would take kindly to one who had killed their king.

"You have made too many enemies, Loki," a voice growled behind him, speaking his next thought aloud.

Loki turned to see his brother glowering behind him with his arms crossed over his breastplate.

"What?" Lightly bewildered, the word fell from his lips as dew drops from a leaf, and he was caught unawares of what his brother spoke of. For the shortest of seconds, he had mildly believed, childishly that his brother had read his mind.

"You have made an enemy of every soul in Asgard. Even you, brother, cannot conceive of the anger they bear you now," Thor continued, motioning with a hand for the guards to let him through, confident that he was in no danger by being with his brother. Loki couldn't help but notice that he still wore his full armor, usually reserved for battle.

Loki's stare remained just over his brother's shoulders, the placid, far-off look in his eyes that he always kept. An unconscious, small smile rose, displaying his amusement at his brother's words. "Even I?" he repeated, innocently, feigning unawareness. "Out of all of Asgard?"

"You know perfectly well my meaning," Thor growled, his deep voice rumbling within the barrel of his chest. "I know few minds more cunning that your own."

Loki glanced to Odin's palace again, whispering a word or two of mockery under his breath. "You choose a strange time to find words of praise, and your choice of words bears more illness than your timing," Loki returned, lying back down, casting his aloft stare to the ceiling. "I believe you meant "imaginative" rather than "cunning"."

Thor growled again, barking at him like a dog. "Enough with your mockery, your ungratefulness!"

"Ungrateful?" Loki repeated, rising from his position, the guards readying their spears as they sensed his anger. He licked his lips, a maddening sneer growing at the corner of his mouth. "Ungrateful, am I? You… you slimy cur! You sit up there on high," he pointed with a wild gesture to Odin's palace, "Plotting my death among your companions, then come down here to lord your freedom and worthiness over me! Am I so ungrateful to you for imprisoning me, _dear brother?_"

The guards advanced as he gave a bitter laugh, standing up and taking a few steps towards Thor.

Thor glared at him, before glancing back at the guards and motioning them back again. "When I say that you are ungrateful," he began, forcing his calm and returned his stare to meet Loki's eyes, "It is because I am advocating on your behalf for a kinder sentence."

Loki withdrew a step after a moment's hesitation, drawing himself up to his full height.

"Is that so," he murmured, letting out a deep breath. "In that case, I'd prefer a more skilled advocate," he smirked, turning on his heal and returned to his bed. His smile grew wider as he could sense Thor's anger radiating behind him, and feel the static growing in the room. Even without looking, he could see his brother's state as he tried to contain his anger. He would grind his teeth together, trying to prevent a low growl from escaping his throat, and shaking, clenched fists at his sides, his bitten nails creating marks on the palms of his hands. That was how he had always been, especially as a child. There was something about reactions such as this that thrilled Loki and fueled his mischief. Reveling in the thought of his brother releasing his anger over such a trivial speech, he waited with bated breath.

"Despite your resistance to aid your own cause," Thor began, his voice carefully calm, quieting with each new word he spoke, wavering, choked with emotion, "I will continue to delay the decision for your sentence for as long as I can. Perhaps over a while, time will dull the memories of your crimes and my efforts for you will not be in vain. I had come to seek consultation, but it appears you would rather fight me than allow me to fight for you…I beg for your forgiveness, for I must continue my efforts, dear brother."

With that, he motion to the guards to let him leave. Loki stood up quickly, calling after his brother's retreating back and billowing cape, red as the blood in Loki's ledger that he now tried to wipe out, over shoulders weighted down with the burden of Loki's crimes he now intended to bear.

"Does mother know thou doth wear-eth her drapes?" he jeered in desperation to annoy his brother, in one final chance.

"I think we both know your clothes look more like her than mine do," Thor shouted back irritably, not bothering to turn as he spoke, his thunderous voice still delivering his words to Loki's ears without mistake. Loki grinned malignantly, crowing over a victory of nothing already the madness of imprisonment was taking its toll on him.

_**Stay tuned, there should be a chapter 2!**_

**Ah, hello, you there. Yes, you. No, not the person behind you. YOU. **

**HOW DARE YOU**

**No, I'm kidding. I hope you enjoyed this, and maybe didn't noticed how illfully I mapped out Loki's character and made up "illfully" to suit my own motives. Sorry about that. I wasn't really thinking, but oh well I'm not gonna do anything about it now. **

**Please read this, this is important, nay, crucial to chapter 2's survival. **

**First of all, you may be wondering why this was rated "M". well, that's because chapter 2 is about to get very, very messy. **

**But there's a bit of a problem, you see, I don't feel like making an OC just for the sake of writing a fanfuck. (language! Yes, that's what words are). So I thought I might hold a little contest of sorts. **

**Here it is:**

**In the reviews box, if you feel up to it, please enter a character's name, description, person, etc. NO MARY SUE'S. YOU GOT THAT? The only requirement is that she/he is a citizen of Asgard. Please write whether you want her/him paired with Thor or Loki, (or perhaps another person in Asgard I can't think of at the moment, but those are less likely to get done). If you want you can include a short summary of what you want to happen between the characters, I'll try to make it work if it's not too unrealistic. However, if it takes up more than one review to write I probably won't read the second/third part (brief summary, guys, BRIEF). Please do not PM me, I don't read those. **


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